Le Contemporain

2015/01/13

I’ve been with my sister and her boyfriend to a casual 3-courses lunch at restaurant Le Contemporain, located inside the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC). The architecture is full of chic curves, materials and volumes. Our starters were: an aerial celeriac soup with understated smoked mussels and crispy chicken skin; an original carrot covered with cocoa nibs and seasoned with cumin, and a tasty bean salad with an egg and crunchy bacon. For mains, we chose the melting oven-baked salmon (à l’unilatérale) with squash purée, shiitakes, whisky sauce and nasturtium leaves, the savory cod (for once) wrapped with raw homemade ham and cauliflower slices, and finally the duck breast with lentils, dried apricot sauce and pearl onions. For dessert, we had the lemon financier with its glace babeurre and the flavorful blueberry-cranberry-rosemary sauce, as well as the mignardises maison: a cannelé, an Earl Grey macaron and a surprising chocolate saucisson. Some plates were heavy with the salt, but overall, we absolutely loved the beautiful presentations and the delicate use of fresh sprouts and flowers.

Do I recommend Le Contemporain? Yes, for the visual experience of both plates and décor, its location and ingredient combinations. Plus, while digesting all the food, nothing’s best than visiting La Biennale de Montréal at the MAC if you haven’t had the chance yet. We look forward to Chef Antonin Mousseau-Rivard’s new restaurant, Le Mousso, opening later this year. In the meantime, I love to browse his gorgeousInstagram feed to get a sneak peek of his future dishes… And so should you.